Pursuant to International Treaty Agreements, NASA and other world wide space agencies have agreed not to bring terrestrial organisms to Mars. For example, a spacecraft returning to Earth from Mars is not allowed to carry exposed material that could potentially be contaminated with unknown organisms. Practical implications of these agreements imply very detailed considerations for handling, sealing, opening and analyzing extra-terrestrial samples. It is thus conceivable that such extra-terrestrial samples will be analyzed in a sample receiving facility wherein sample return canisters will be manipulated in a controlled environment. More specifically, known methods of isolating biological, nuclear, or chemical contaminants will be employed to manipulate and test any extra-terrestrial samples.
Often hazardous samples are generally handled in containment enclosures wherein a sample is manipulated by the gloved hands of a technician. The gloves of the prior art containment modules are interconnected to an opening provided in the containment module. Gloveboxes for handling extra-terrestrial material will most likely encompass technology and standard practices from the nuclear, pharmaceutical, bio-hazard and clean room industries, wherein handling and analyzing the samples will be performed in a containment module that incorporates features of standard single wall gloveboxes typically used in nuclear industry as well as Class III biological safety cabinets used in the biological industry. However, it is contemplated that a secondary containment barrier may be required to meet the stringent requirements of non contamination. Gloves used in conjunction with a traditional single wall boxes are not well suited for double wall containment module.